Repeating attachment for sound-reproducers



A. B. PUDDICOMBE. V,

REPEATING ATTACHMENT FOR SOUND REPRODUCERS. APPLICAT ON FILED Aue.3O. 19|7.

1,361,405 Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

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BEPEATING ATTACHMENT FOR SOUND R EPRODUCERS. APPLICATION FILED Aue.so. 19w.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

REPEATING ATTACHMENT FOR SOUND-REPRODUCERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

Application filed August so, 1917. Serial No. 188,984.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT BRUCE PUD- DIooMnn, a citizen of Canton, China, have invented a new and useful Repeating Attachment for Sound-Reproducers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a repeating attachment applicable'to sound reproducers, and aims to provide a novel'and improved device of that character for accomplishing the repetition of the tune played.

It is the object of the invention to provide an automatically operating repeating attachment whereby, when the needle of the sound box reaches the innerend of the phonic groove of the record, the needle will be automatically lifted off of the record, the sound arm then being returned to starting position, and the needle lowered onto the record to enter the phonic groove at the 7 starting point, whereby the operation of the sound reproducer will be repeated, such repetition being continued until the machine is stopped. 1

A further object of the invention is the provision of a repeating mechanism of the nature indicated which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in construction, which can be readily applied to sound reproducers, and which will operate in a simple yet eflicient manner to accomplish the desired results.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a fragmental portion of a sound reproducer, showing the attachment applied. I

Fig. 2 i a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the tone arm near stopping position. 7

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the tone arm at the end of its movement, ready to be returned to the starting position.

box 3 In the drawings there is illustrated a conventional sound reproducer embodying the tone arn'i 1 whose free end is swingable back and forth, said arm being mounted for free swinging n'ioveinent and the axis of rotation of said arm is tilted slightly, as shown at 2 in Fig. 3, whereby the arm swings by gravity when released to starting position. This is readily accomplished in ordinary sound reproducers by tilting the axis of movement of the tone arm slightly so that the tone arm will have a tendency to swing to one side toward starting position. The tone arm 1 carries, as usual, a sound which isswingable upwardly and downwardly, and which has a. needle 4 to bear upon the disk record 5 which is ro- 'tated, as usual, on a turntable, and which has a spiral phonic groove in which the needle works, to carry the arm. 1 toward the center of the record during the playing of the selection.

' As illustrated, the attachment is applied to the oscillatory tone arm 1, to accomplish the automatic return of the tone arm to starting position. This attachment includes a tilting lever 6 extending along one side of thearm 1 and fulcrumed between its ends, as at 7, to a bracket 8, clamped or otherwise attached to the arm 1 near its free end. Said lever has a short arm 9 projecting beyond the free end of the arm 1 under the sound box 3, and said lever has along arm 10 projecting toward the pivotally mounted end of the arm 1. When the arm 10 is depressed, this will raise the arm 9, which will raise the sound box with it to remove the needle 4 from the record 5 and when the arm 10 is raised, thearm 9 is lowered, thereby letting the sound box swing downwardly to bring the needle back onto the record.

Spring means is employed for swinging the lever 6 to either position when moved past an intermediate or dead center position, whereby to either raise the sound box or let it swing downwardly. For this purpose, a stem 11 is pivotally connected with the end of the arm 10 and has a coiled wire The spring 12 is confined between the pivoted end of the stem 11 and the member 13, whereby when the lever 6, stem 11 and member 13 are moved into alinement in the intermediate or dead center position of said lever, the spring 12 will be compressed due to the movement of the stem 11 into the member 13. Therefore, when the lever 6 is moved past intermediate position, either upwardly or downwardly, the spring 12 intending to expand and separate the stem 11 and member 13, will either raise or lower the arm 10 of the tilting lever and hold it in corresponding position. The face plate 14 carries a pair of stops 14' between which the arm 10 of the lever 6 is movable, whereby to limit the upward and downward movement of said arm 10.

In order to depress the arm 10 when the tone arm 1 reaches the end of its inward movement in completing the tune, a post 15 is carried by an adjustable slide 16 movable in a guide 17 secured upon the cabinet or frame of the sound reproducer at a suitable point, the guide 17 having a set screw 18 or other means for holding the slide 16 in various adjusted positions. The post 15 is provided at its upper end with an inclined cam 19 projecting toward the arm 1, and which is so located, by properly adjusting its slide 16, that when the needle 4 reaches the finishing end of the phonic groove, the arm 10 of the lever 6 is moved under and engages the cam 19, whereby the cam will depress the arm 10 slightly below interholding means carried by the guide 22. The

post 20 can, therefore, be adjusted to stop the arm 1 at a proper position when returned to starting position.

In order to raise the arm 10 above intermediate position, as the tone arm 1 is returned to starting positiolnthere is provided a depending arm 24 pivoted at its upper end to the plate .14 and swingable transversely of the arm 1 underneath the arm 10 of the lever 6. A coiled wire retractile spring 25 connects the arm 24 between its endswith a screw 27 or other anchor member attached to the arm 1. When the arm 24 isswung toward the right, as shown by dotted lines inFig. 3.and by full lines in Fig. 4, into position past the dead center thearm 24 will remain in this position, but a slight touch against the same, tending to ,swingthesame toward the left with respect t the a l ng th sp ng .26 n play 0 lea g h ar 2 sha p y wa the left as shown by full lines in Fig. 3. This arm 24 has an outstanding pin or finger 28 underneath the arm 10, which, when the arm 24 is swung toward the left by the spring 26, will contact with the arm 10 and raise it to and above intermediate position.

A stop 29 is mounted between the posts 15 and 20, and at such a position to be struck by the post 20, being held adjustably by means of a pair of nuts 31 thereon, whereby the stop 30 can be adjusted. This stop 30 is in the path of movement of the lower end of the arm 24, whereby when the arm 1 is returned to starting position the arm 24 will contact with the stop 30, therebythrowing the arm 24 toward the left with respect to the arm 1, when said arm completes its return movement, so that the spring 26 will come into action for swinging the arm 24 to:the left, as above'described.

A light retractile spring 32 connects the lowerportion of the sound box 3 and the arm 1, whereby to swing ,said' sound. boX downwardly with spring tension, to hold the needle 4.- in proper engagement with the record 5, to avoid slipping as will herein-- after more fully appear.

The operation is as follows: The sound vreproducer is started inthe usual manner, the V needle 4 being placed in the starting end of the phonic groove, and as the record 5 is rotated, the arm 1 is carried inwardly. During the inward movement of the arm 1, the arm 24'is stopped by the stop 29, and the continued movement of the arm 1 will swing the upper end of the arm 24 toward the left, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, thereby bringing the spring 26 under tension, and moving the arm 24 to dead center position, where it will be held until released. As the spring 26 is thus brought under tension,'the spring 32 will hold the needle 4 in the phonic groove to prevent the slipping. During the completion of the movement of arm 1, the arm 10 moves underthe cam 19 and is depressed slightly beyond intermediate' position. Thus, as the tune is finished, the arm 10 will be moved downwardly by the spring 12, thus raising the arm 9, which will lift 24 remaining in dead center position.

The post 20 and stop are so adjustedthat when the arm is returned to starting position, the arm 24 in touching the stop and the arm 1 moving slightly farther to be stopped by the post 30, will release the arm 24, whereby the spring 26 swings the arm 2& toward the left, raising the finger 28 which will lift the arm 10 above intermediate position. The spring 12 thus completes the upward movement of the arm 10 and holds it in uppermost position, the arm 9 being thereby lowered when the arm 1 is returned to starting position, so that the needle 4 will be lowered with the sound box to again enter the phonic groove at the starting end thereof, in which event the selection previously played will be repeated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. The combination with a movable arm returnable to starting position when re leased, and a needle carried by said arm en gageable with a record, of a member carried by said arm movable past intermediate position in opposite directions for raising and lowering said needle, spring means for moving said member in either direction when moved past intermediate position, means for moving said member-past intermediate posi tion in one direction when said arm completes its movement from starting position, to raise the needle, spring pressed means carried by said arm brought under tension and past a dead center position when said arm completes its movement from starting position, and operable for moving said memher in the opposite direction past intermediate position when said arm is returned to starting position.

2-. The combination with an oscillatory arm returnable to starting position when released, and a member pivotally connected with said arm to swing upwardly and down wardly and having a needle to engage a record, of a lever fulcrumed between its ends to said arm, said lever extending along said arm and having oppositely extending arms, one for raising said member, spring means for swinging said lever to either position when moved past intermediate position, means for depressing the other arm of said lever past intermediate position when the first mentioned arm completes its movement from starting position, and means for raising the last mentioned arm of said lever past intermediate position when the first mentioned arm is returned to starting position. 3. The combination with an oscillatory tone arm returnable to starting position when released, and a member pivotally connected with said arm and having a needle to engage a record, of a lever fulcrumed to the arm for raising said member, spring means for swinging said lever in either direction when moved past intermediate position, a cam for swinging the lever in one direction to raise said member when said arm completes its movement from the starting position, a spring pressed depending arm carried by the tone arm and movable past dead center position, means for engagement by the depending arm to move said lever in the opposite direction past intermediate position when the tone arm arrives at one extreme position, and means for reversing the position of the depending arm to disengage the lever during the movement of the tone arm away from starting position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT BRUCE PUDDICOMBE.

Witnesses FREDERICK FERGUSON, H. A. WENG KwoNe. 

